Changes
by Mollyness
Summary: Following one night of just letting himself go, Jack finds himself thrown into a new disaster. How the events of one day can help a man change. I've rated this one T for a little bit of language and a little bit of 24-style violence later on.


This has been going around in my head for a while waiting for a 24 girl I wanted to write for. I loved Terri but season 1 took care of that. The other girls have just never inspired me, so I kind of invented my own. There's a little bit of angst in the beginning but, hey, what's a good 24 story without a bit? :)

This is probably placed around seasons 2-4- lol! I've not tied down the timing of it yet but am sure I will as chapters go on.

R&R would be appreciated, either here or on the email- this is hopefully going to be a multi-chaptered adventure for Jack and I'd love any suggestions.

**Chapter One**

It had been a long day. Jack was losing track of the number of long days he'd had over the past few years. He had spent the last hour crawling the walls of his apartment, pacing, staring, downing more than a couple of glasses of whatever he could find.

He had considered going back to work but that idea inspired even less enthusiasm than pacing his apartment. Sighing, he collapsed onto his couch, putting his head in his hands. He couldn't stay here much longer, he was drowning in his own thoughts.

But where to go?

His mind answered that question almost as quickly as he had asked it. Bar.

He didn't even bother changing, just headed straight out of the door, only just remembering to grab his keys from the side table.

"I dare you."

Elli raised an eyebrow at her best friend. It was her big 3-0 night on the town and some bright spark had come up with the idea of playing Dare. So far Elli had licked a stranger's ear, drunk a horrible cocktail of God only knows what and given an embarrassing rendition of 'Like a Virgin'. Now Kat had dared her to chat up the stranger at the bar.

"But I'm rubbish at chatting people up." Elli cringed, taking a large gulp of her drink, "You know that."

"Whatever" Kat scoffed, "You need the practice then. Go!"

"Fiiine." Elli sighed standing from the stool and making her way over to the bar, ignoring the cat calls of the girls behind her. She tucked her hair behind her ears, an old nervous twitch, and tugged at the hem of her top.

Slipping into the stool at the bar, Elli stole a sidewards glance at the stranger to her right. He wasn't half bad. Little bit rough but the girls could have been a lot crueler. He was nursing a glass of what looked like scotch, lost in his own thoughts. Elli almost felt bad disturbing him but a dare was a dare and Kat would never let her live it down if she chickened out.

She drummed her fingers on the bar for a couple of seconds and then sighed, "I love this song."

The strangers eyes flickered to her slightly and he muttered "Me too."

Contact! Equally as casually, she replied "Yeah, their earlier stuff was better, but this one's good."

He looked up at her then and their gazes met. She almost gasped at the depth in those green/grey eyes. Handsome didn't describe it. She gulped.

"Want a drink?" He asked quietly.

"Sure." She nodded, working carefully on regaining her composure.

He flagged down the barman effortlessly and ordered them a double scotch each before she could object to the strength of the drink. Normally she wouldn't have minded but after the copious amount of alcohol that had already trickled its way around her throat that night she wasn't sure it would be her brightest move.

"Cheers" she said, taking a deep breath and knocking it back in one. When she looked up, shuddering as her throat burned, he was watching her, a small smile tugging at his lips. "What?" She demanded.

"Nothing." He shrugged, matching her with a large swig of his own drink. "Jack" he offered.

"Elli" she replied and offered a highly clichéd line, "So, Jack, what brings you here tonight?"

He looked up at her again and she noticed how unfocused his gaze was, his mouth set in a straight line, swaying ever so slightly. He was drunk. But, then again, so was she. He was thinking, making a decision, she could tell. Elli knew when that decision was made as his eyes suddenly focused intensely on her, and he said, confidently "You."

Embarrassingly, Elli's next word came out as a high-pitched squeak: "Me?"

His response was replaced by him moving fluidly out of his seat, placing both his hands on her cheeks and kissing her firmly on the mouth.

It was dizzying. He tasted strongly of whisky but the kiss was too good for her to be bothered by it. It was intense and strong and demanding and she was fairly certain that, if she had been standing up, her knees would have started wobbling. He broke away and held his hand out to her, slurring "Wanna come with me?"

She shouldn't. It wasn't her. She didn't go out and randomly make out with guys she'd said less than ten words to. And she certainly didn't go anywhere with them.

But she wanted to. And, what the hell, maybe this was what she needed. There had been a string of safe, boring, run of the mill relationships that had left her cold. Maybe a drunken, hot, one night stand would kick her back into touch.

The hell with it.

She grabbed his hand and he tugged her up so fast that she barely had time to grab her handbag. He quickly made a beeline for the door, pulling her behind him. They fell into a cab, lips immediately reunited as he locked her in strong arms.

The bar was perfect. Busy enough for him to be able to remain anonymous but quiet enough that it wasn't too rowdy. He took a seat at the bar, ordered up a malt and settled in to brood.

An hour ticked by and Jack lined up several drinks, feeling his consciousness slip gradually into fuzz. He vaguely watched the activities around him. Men slapping each other on the back at the latest game scores flashing up on the big screen. A group of girls almost doubled over in laughter at the night's events. Couples dancing up close.

It had been forever since he'd felt that. Felt the warmth of friends. Had a fun night. Been held by someone.

He shook his head angrily, purposely staring back down at the bar. It did no good to brood, no good to regret. He'd made his life what it was and he'd have to live with it.

He needed to not think.

Jack was shocked when someone slid into the stool at the bar next to him. His general 'fuck off' demeanor had pretty much repelled anyone from sitting next to him for the night but now his peace had been disturbed.

He glanced across. It was a girl… a woman, he corrected. She sat drumming her fingers in time to the music. She was pretty, he had to acknowledge that, in an unassuming kind of way. He almost laughed to himself, it had been forever since he'd thought of someone as anything other than 'ally' or 'enemy'. He couldn't remember the last time he thought of someone as 'pretty'. He must be drunk.

He was so lost in his thoughts he almost missed her sighing "I love this song."

Huh. Interesting. "Me too." He replied, cringing at how slurry his voice sounded.

"Yeah, their earlier stuff was better" She replied casually, shrugging, "But this one's good."

He looked up at her then and their eyes locked. She was more than pretty. Her ice blue eyes were intelligent, maybe marred slightly with the alcohol, and she offered him a warm smile from glossed lips. Her hair was dark brown with flashes of red and it hung straight, tucked behind her ears. A strand fell loose from her left ear and he found himself wanting to replace it.

Where did that come from!? He shook his head, refocusing on the girl and schooling his wandering mind.

"Want a drink?" He found himself offering.

She smiled at him "Sure."

Jack nodded at the barman for the umpteenth time that night, appearing to secure them drinks effortlessly. In truth, Jack had been the man's most frequent customer throughout the night- he was on his radar. He watched as the barman poured out two scotches and placed the glasses in front of them.

He almost laughed as he realised just how out of practice he was. He supposed it was usually polite to ask the girl what she liked to drink, not just assume she'd be happy with whatever manly drink he was lining up. He remembered enough to know most girls probably wouldn't be happy with a scotch.

He was about to apologise and order her something else when she lifted the glass to him, murmuring "Cheers".

He watched as she took a deep breath and knocked the drink back in one, not successfully suppressing the shudder that ran through her as the liquid burned her throat. That made him smile a little. She saw this smile and her forehead creased in a little frown at him, "What?" she demanded.

"Nothing." He shrugged a little and slogged down about half of his own drink. He swirled the liquid in his drink and peered a little bit across at her, offering "Jack."

"Elli." She replied, leaning her head on one hand and looking across at him, "So, Jack, what brings you here tonight?"

He looked up at her then, wondering. He was pretty tipsy. She was too. It would be nice to just have one night with someone else with him. Even a stranger. It wasn't taking advantage, right? They were probably too far gone for anything to happen anyway. He would try it. One night.

He answered her question with a sudden fierceness burning through his body "You."

This change in attitude obviously shocked her as she visibly gulped and whispered "Me?"

There was only one response in Jack's mind now that he had made his decision. He pushed himself from the stool, placing both his hands on her cheeks and kissing her firmly on the mouth.

It had been too long, he realised, as he found himself thinking far too much about his actions. This sort of thing had come naturally to him once upon a time but now he was over-analysing, comparing, thinking…

She recovered from his surprise attack and began responding to him, pushing herself into his embrace and kissing him back with passion. Jack's mind immediately stopped thinking and switched to auto-pilot. Now it felt natural, now it felt right. He snaked a hand on to the small of her back, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss, savouring the taste.

Then he broke away, catching his breath and looking down at her. Her eyes were sparkling and she licked her lips unconsciously. She was beautiful. Why would he resist? Why should he? He held his hand out to her, steadying his feet on the floor and querying "Wanna come with me?"

He watched as she made the decision. She was obviously unsure whether to trust him- as any good girl should probably be. He squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture.

Jack saw her decision being made as she suddenly grinned at him and grabbed his hand. Before she had a chance to change her mind, he tugged her up and towards the door.

Once outside Jack barely had the presence of mind to ensure they fell into a cab before he locked her in his arms and kissed her until he forgot who he was.


End file.
